A/N: Hey guys, sorry it took me forever to update this. Everything has been so up and down lately it's driving me crazy. But I had free time today and was super disappointed in myself for not writing in so long, so here you are! Chapter Sixteen! Not a favorite, but it wasn't bad. I did enjoy writing it though, simply because I got a brilliant idea for the rest of the story. It'll throw in a little drama, make things a bit more interesting. Besides, who doesn't like a mystery within the mystery?
Oh, very well. I'll leave you to your reading.
Lol, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Missed you guys!
xxx
Perilous
Chapter Sixteen
My eyes flew open, and when they did, there was nothing. Nothing inside of me. Not anger, not confusion, not sadness, just...
Nothing.
Cammie POV
I didn't turn it off completely.
Not like I wanted to.
I knew that completing this mission would take some emotion, that my memories played into it somehow and my emotions were the only thing triggering them. Not to mention I needed to feel at least a little if I didn't want to lie to them more than I already had.
I awkwardly returned Bex's embrace. It was odd because no one other than Zach had hugged me in a very long time.
"Bex," I whispered. "I really want to talk about this, you know I do, but you also know that we can't do this now."
"I know," She replied. "I just...I have to hold you first. I have to."
I nodded and released a breath.
As scared as I was, as angry as I was that they knew, it was relieving. Like a weight lifted from my shoulders.
The hug became less awkward when Liz and Macey joined us.
It lasted a while before we all broke apart.
Bex squeezed my hand while Macey took my face in her hands and pressed her forehead to mine.
"God, it's like seeing a ghost. I can't believe you're here." She said.
I smiled a bit. "Honestly, neither can I."
When she stepped away, Liz came forward. Fresh tears filled her hazel eyes.
"Lizzie, I already know what you're going to say, and you don't have to apologize. You didn't know."
She nodded and wiped her tears putting on a smile.
I looked away from Liz and let my eyes trail around the room, seeing everyone as if for the first time. "In fact, none of you knew. My reasons for hiding my identity were rather selfish, mainly because I didn't think my family would want me back after everything I've done." I fought the urge to hug myself and faced the situation head-on.
I made eye contact with each of them, in turn. Jonas smiled a bit, Nick nodded in encouragement, I honestly don't even know if Grant knew what was happening, and Zach...couldn't meet my eyes.
Taking a deep breath, I held my head high and said the words I'd been terrified to admit ever since I was 16. "My name is Cameron Ann Morgan, Cammie for short. Matthew Morgan was my father, and Racheal Morgan is my mother. Abigail Cameron is my aunt, and Joeseph Solomon was once like a second father to me. My best friends are in this room. I was taken by Catherine Goode and the Circle of Cavan when I was eight years old and just recently had a chance to escape. I did horrible things while under their control, and I regret every single one of them. Of course, at the moment, there was nothing. Because that's what they teach. No feeling, no emotion...no remorse. I'm not proud of my past, but I did what I had to do to survive and that is one thing I will not apologize for. I hope knowing this doesn't change anything. It shouldn't because the fact stands- we have a job to do, and no one else can do it but us. We are the only ones with the skill, the experience, and the knowledge to destroy these sons of bitches. And we are going to have to trust each other if this is going to work. So I ask this- do you trust me?"
When there was no reply, I repeated myself, my words slower and stronger than before. "Do you trust me?"
Zach, who still looked defeated, stepped forward and answered first, finally meeting my gaze. "Always."
"Once a Gallagher Girl, always a Gallagher Girl," Macey said, taking my hand.
"What she said," Liz smiled.
Bex shrugged. "Well, I've dealt with you this long."
Everyone chuckled.
"Jonas?" I prompted.
"I wasn't so sure at first but...yeah, I do." He nodded.
Nick stepped forward, hands in his pockets, the tired look from earlier no longer there. "Since I'm last, that is a hell yes from me."
I laughed, and so did the others.
We now stood in a circle, the whole team.
We watched each other, we gave nods, shared smiles and smirks.
We shared trust.
And we shared friendship.
"Alright, now who's ready to kick some ass?" Zach said, hiding his previous emotions behind an encouraging expression and an idiotic smirk. But I saw it because I knew him, better than anyone. I saw the pain in his eyes and the helplessness he felt at what he had done.
But rather than commenting, I smirked back and didn't hesitate to answer.
"Let's do this."
A/N: I almost ended it there, y'all are lucky I love you lol.
"Okay, so Liz and Jonas. What's his security like?" Zach questioned.
We were all standing around the breakfast nook table in Bex and Grant's suite. A very detailed blueprint of Prince's mansion lay in the center, the front door and other access points circled in red ink. We all had cups of coffee for the extensive preparations that would drag through the night. Liz was leaning over her laptop, as was her husband with his own.
"His security is actually very subpar for whatever he's hiding. Just basic handprint scanners and all. The only interesting thing about the place, really, is his office and...that." Jonas turned his laptop around and showed us the screen.
It was a satellite vision of the mansion, it looked almost like an x-ray of the house. When Jonas zoomed in on the basement, we couldn't see anything but what appeared to be a large containment cell.
"Lead, right?" Grant asked, looking up at the two computer nerds.
Liz nodded. "Exactly, and when we scan for anything suspicious," She pressed a few buttons and the screen took on a green hue, with red surrounding the containment cell. "We get nuclear radiation signals."
"Well, shit. This is just getting better and better." Nick said sarcastically.
I would have smiled, but for some reason, his voice sounded far away. It echoed slightly before other sounds coming from someone, somewhere, else took over.
It was like something was scratching against another. Maybe...a pen? On paper? I heard my voice. It sounded different though, colder. A male voice too.
But still, I could hear Liz and the others talking. It kept shifting back and forth, each getting louder and quieter.
"What do you think i-"
"Shh!" I cut Macey off, raising a hand and squeezing my eyes shut. "I need to hear what they're saying. It's important."
Somewhere, distantly, I heard Bex say, "What the hell? No one else is here."
"Maybe she's remembering something?' Jonas.
"Agh!" I grunted in pain as I pressed my palms to my temple. It throbbed violently, but I needed to know. I needed to hear.
"Cammie!" Zach.
He must have reached for me, because from far away Nick said, "NO! If you touch her, it might hurt her more. Right now she's stuck between her memories and present life. You have to let her work through it."
"But it's hurting her!"
Zach was louder this time, blocking out the male voice in my head that sounded strangely like him.
I gritted my teeth. "Shut up! All of you! I'm trying to listen, just let me listen."
Their voices grew softer and then disappeared altogether.
Now I could make out the other sounds.
The scratching continued until I heard my voice again.
"What are you doing?"
"Writing a letter." The male.
Zion, I thought.
He didn't sound younger, so this must have been recent. How could I have forgotten it so soon?
"The hell you are. What are you really doing?"
"I am writing a letter. Landon Prince, heard of him?"
A beat of silence.
"Maybe once or twice. What about him? Isn't he just another guy in the Circle's pocket?"
"Yes, but my mom is planning something. She wanted me to set up a meeting for the two of them soon, said something about a letter being the safest way to communicate without interference."
"Planning what?"
"I can't tell you that, my little Chameleon."
"Why? It's not like I'd be able to escape and tell anyone. I'm not even sure I want to."
I smirked in amusement. That didn't age well.
"Fine. Three words. Nukes, Caspia, Amy. You figure out the rest. Now leave me alone. Go train or something."
"Ugh, whatever."
I snapped back into the present, the pain in my head subsiding as I processed the new information. "It's a bomb."
"What!?" Grant exclaimed.
I whirled around, placing my hands on the table. "A while ago, I'm not sure when exactly but recently, probably a few months ago. Zion was writing a letter to someone- he told me 'Landon Prince.' He said Catherine was planning something and that she wanted him to set up a meeting. He wouldn't tell me what exactly they were plotting but he gave me three words and said to figure it out."
Nick put a hand on his chin in thought. "What were the words?"
"Nukes, Caspia, Amy. The first is obviously a word for a nuclear weapon, usually bombs. Prince was involved with this, so clearly that's what's in his basement. The other two mean nothing to me."
Bex's eyes widened. "Amy. Oh no."
"Do you know what it means?" Zach looked at her.
Liz gasped. "Oh gosh."
Jonas began typing furiously. "Nightshade, your memories are like a superpower, always coming at the right moment." He froze and glanced up at me from the screen. "Sorry."
I shrugged. "Don't care, honestly. Call me whatever you want."
Macey rolled her eyes. "Yeah, a superpower from hell. Poor Amy."
Grant looked back and forth between the girls and Jonas. "I don't get it. Who's Amy?"
Jonas once again turned his laptop so we could see. On it was a picture from a Russian magazine with a teenage girl wearing a fluffy, purple dress. She was beautiful, and the girls smiled when they saw her face. The smiles, however, quickly faded into frowns.
"Meet Princess Amirah of Caspia. Which is in Russia, if you didn't know." Jonas explained.
(A/N: I literally could not figure out where Caspia is- all I came up with was the Caspian Sea. So we're going to pretend it's in Russia for argument's sake.)
"Amirah is a Gallagher Girl. She was in her earlier Gallagher years when we graduated. This wouldn't be the first time someone attempted to assassinate her. There was a plot to kill her when we were seniors, we stopped it." Bex elaborated.
Liz nodded. "Amy is her alias. Only a select few Gallagher teachers and alumni know her true identity, but of course, terrorists often have a way of figuring that sort of thing out."
"Looks like the Circle wants her dead." Nick sighed.
Zach shook his head almost in disbelief. "And Landon Prince is a part of it. We need to call the Director."
He placed his phone on the center of the table and dialed Haspel's number, putting it on speaker.
The Director picked up immediately.
"Agent Goode. I was just about to call you."
"You've got the whole team. Why were you calling?" Zach replied.
"It seems Nightshade was right- Your brother came after me last night."
I looked up at this. "What happened? Are you safe?"
"I'm at a safe house now, a few agents are with me just in case. I only have a few bruises and a nonfatal gunshot wound. Don't worry about me. It seemed to be more of a game to him than anything. It was as if killing me wasn't his goal."
I looked at the others. "He's toying with them. That means he has a bigger plan. He may be crazy, but Zion does everything for a reason."
"We're safe for now. How is your progress? Any news?"
Zach nodded even though he couldn't be seen. "We've uncovered a plot to kill Princess Amirah. Landon Prince is working with the Circle to do it. He has a nuclear bomb in his basement. We haven't got a date or anything, just that it's soon. They've been planning it for months."
"We need to guarantee her safety until we figure out a way to stop it. Get her to a safe house, immediately." Macey said.
"I'll give the order after we're finished and assign other agents to deal with the case. You all focus on getting to Catherine and Zion."
"Yes sir." We echoed.
Zach gazed up at me. He still had that look in his eyes, that pained look. As if everything that was ever done wrong in the world was his fault. I wanted to tell him that I wasn't angry with him, but I couldn't. Not yet.
"Uh, sir." He began, leaning over the table. "There's one more thing."
"Yes?"
Zach raised an eyebrow, still watching me, and I instantly knew what he was asking. I nodded. There was no point in hiding it now.
"Nightshade- we know who she really is." Zach finished after a few moments of silence.
"Well? Who is she?"
"My name is Cameron Ann Morgan. Daughter of Matthew Morgan, KIA, and Racheal Morgan, inactive." I answered without hesitation.
The Director didn't say anything for a solid 4 and a half minutes. No one said anything. We just waited.
When he did speak, however, it wasn't sentimental and that I was thankful for.
"Would you like me to alert your mother? And the rest of your family that's left?"
That's left. That's left.
Those words echoed in my head over and over. I thought it was only my father who was dead. But maybe...maybe I was wrong.
I froze for a moment before speaking. "Yes."
"Alright. If that's all, I believe we all have other business to attend to."
"Wait- sir!" I exclaimed, and everyone looked at me. I kept my eyes on the call screen of Zach's phone. "Could you include Joe Solomon in that list? And the rest of the teachers at Gallagher? And the Baxters?"
"Yes, Miss Morgan."
I relaxed. "Thank you."
"Of course. Good evening to you all."
"Good evening, sir." We all replied, expecting him to hang up.
He didn't.
Instead, he said, "And Cammie?"
My eyes widened. I guess he was close to my family before everything. I vaguely remembered his name being mentioned a lot throughout my childhood.
"Yes sir?" I responded.
"Welcome home,"
I smiled. "Thank you, sir."
And then he hung up.
A/N: This one was pretty long. And look at that, everyone is about to know that Cammie's alive. But what do you think Catherine and Prince are planning? And what about Zion? He always has a reason for everything...Lol I hope you liked this chapter and I can't wait to read your reviews! Thanks for reading!
Duchess12: I just want to start this by saying I love you. Like literally, I love you. Thank you so much! I needed that! Idk for some reason I feel like Cammie and Zion would be ok together but ohhhhhhkayyyy I'll stop lol. YAY I loveeeee writing flashbacks, so I'm glad you love reading them! They're just so fun and yes they definitely make everything in the present make so much more sense. Thank you so so so so so much for everything! And I hope you enjoyed this chapter too! See you soon love! 3333
Guest: Well here you have it! Hope you liked this chapter!
Alecks454: Eh it's okay I blow of homework all the time too. Thank you! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!